We hear that Jesus so loves His disciples that He prays for their and our spiritual protection.
! This week we're very much going to hear the heart of Jesus for His disciples.
! This week we had our last ever primary school parent consultation.
And it was really nice to spend time with a P7 teacher who had invested a lot in terms of education, character, trying to build confidence.
And His last words were all about having a healthy concern for ongoing progress.
Knowing the next phase of high school was about to begin, eager that Seb continue on in his educational career.
Different conditions need new provisions.
Jesus has been with His disciples for the last three years.
Every day He has been physically with them, their teacher and their master.
He has protected them in their lives of faith.
But now, as we hear at the beginning of the chapter, His hour has come.
He's about to depart.
He's going to go to the cross, then there'll be the resurrection, and then He'll return to the glory of heaven.
And so here He takes time to ask His Father to continue the good work of protecting them spiritually.
That Jesus' loving concern for His disciples remains.
This prayer is often called the High Priestly Prayer.
And that's a really helpful title for this section.
Because remember, Jesus is praying out loud so His disciples can hear.
He wants to encourage them.
He wants to strengthen the disciples as they listen in.
The disciples knew all about the work of the High Priest.
They saw Him get dressed up.
They knew that He wore the name of God's people on His shoulders and wore them on a breastplate on His heart as He would go into God's presence once a year.
And that's exactly the image that we get of Jesus.
His people are on His heart.
He bears them on His shoulders.
He carries us and our needs into our Father's presence.
And so we're going to think about that this evening.
Three very basic questions.
First of all, who does Jesus pray for?
Secondly, what does Jesus pray for?
And thirdly, why do we need this prayer for ourselves?
So question one, who does Jesus pray for?
But again, just to press on this, that we are invited into the loving heart of Jesus.
Because think about it.
He knows that He has already entered into a dark time, a season of sorrow.
He's about to go to the cross.
He's going to take the cup of God's wrath and He's going to drink it to the dregs.
He's literally going to walk into the darkness as He is judged for the sin of His people.
That hour is upon Him, yet here He takes time to pray for His friends.
And as He prays, they get to listen in.
And so do we.
And every word and every phrase matters because they are given and we are given powerful reminders that disciples of Jesus, they are those who are saved by God's grace.
And disciples of Jesus are those who are deeply loved.
This prayer isn't, because Jesus could immediately have gone, Father, I'm praying for my disciples, protect them.
But He takes time to express truths about them, to show characteristics of the Christian.
Some from God's perspective, thinking about salvation.
Some from a human point of view.
But He makes absolutely clear in this prayer that He prays for those who are saved by His power and His grace.
Look at how He begins this section of His prayer.
Verse 6,
Or verse 9,
What's really clear as we listen to Jesus are that disciples are those who've been given to Jesus the Son by God the Father.
And so what's really clear is that they belong both to God the Son and they belong to God the Father.
And they belong to God the Father even before Jesus' ministry.
We're being invited again to recognize this eternal election.
Love before the world was even made.
Chosen before the world was created.
God loves His people.
God loves these disciples because He freely chose to love and to save them.
And what we hear in Jesus' prayer is an aspect of covenant love.
It's followers of Jesus bound to God the Father, bound to God the Son in steadfast, faithful covenant love from all eternity and forever.
Disciples who are saved by God's grace have been given to the Son from out of the world.
Did you hear that emphasis?
Verse 6,
I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world.
Verse 9,
I'm not praying for the world but for those you have given me.
Maybe we're familiar with that idea of being in the world but not of the world.
Christians have been given a new identity.
So, we are called to live here on this earth as foreigners with our true home in heaven with Christ.
And so, we should live our days differently.
Some of us, I know, watch race across the world.
And this week, teams ended up in Mongolia.
And they were dropped into Mongolia, taking a flight over China.
And the territory they entered, it felt like another world to so many of them.
Totally different language.
Totally different way of life.
Entirely different customs.
Really hard to enter in.
And every point on that journey, they were clearly different foreigners, strangers.
Jesus says that's our identity as those who are in Christ.
In the world but not of the world.
In the world but at the same time called out of the world to be given to Jesus.
Important to say that in John's gospel,
sometimes Jesus will use that word world in a really specific way.
Not talking about the earth, geography,
but thinking about a system or a set of people who live in opposition to God and His kingdom.
The world are those whose hearts and desires are fixed on this world, not on heaven.
Those who are seeking glory for themselves in this world, not seeking the glory of God.
And truly, that's the condition of each and every person who has ever lived.
But the prayer of Jesus reminds us that out of that mess of sinful rebellion,
God chooses to reach down and pluck some out to bring to Himself.
Not because they have earned it, but because God delights to be gracious
and to give a people to His Son.
And so, as we listen to Jesus' prayer, we're being reminded of the power of God.
That authority properly belongs to Him.
He is the creator, He is the King.
And this same powerful God who created the world by speaking it into existence,
with that same power raising Jesus from the dead,
with that same power gives us new life in Christ and gives us to Christ.
The God of all power acts in Christ Jesus to set us free, as we were thinking about this morning,
to redeem us from Satan and from sin that leads to death,
through the death of Jesus on the cross.
We were reminded a couple of weeks ago that the U.S. government recently spent around $300 million
to rescue a single airman who was lost in Iran.
The gospel reminds us that the Lord God of heaven paid the ultimate cost,
infinite cost of His Son, His blood shed on the cross,
to redeem and to set us free, to deliver us from enemy territory,
to bring us home to our God.
And so, as we listen to Jesus' prayer, He's putting the power of God on display,
but also the grace of God.
Nothing in these disciples merits His mercy.
Nothing in us merits His mercy.
We are by nature sinful rebels.
Our hearts and wills are set against God.
We break His laws.
We break relationship with God.
But He freely in love gives His Son for us and gives us to His Son
so that all praise and glory belongs to Him.
So, He takes a number of verses to really focus in His prayer on,
here is what God has done for these people who have been given to Him
to show His power and grace.
But also notice that Jesus prays for those who believe God's Word
about Jesus, the Messiah King.
Because this is another emphasis.
Verse 6,
You gave them to Me, and they have obeyed Your Word.
I gave them, verse 8, the words You gave Me, and they accepted them.
End of verse 10,
Glory has come to Me through them.
And so, He's praying for these 11 apostles,
recognizing that these 11, they've been with Jesus from the beginning.
They heard the call of Jesus into discipleship,
come, follow Me, and they responded in faith.
They heard Jesus preach,
The kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe the good news.
And they believe that He is God's King,
and that His coming is good news,
and that salvation is found nowhere else but in Jesus.
In John chapter 6, we get to that point where many people are offended by Jesus.
Big crowds have been following, but they begin to turn away from Jesus.
And He says to His disciples,
Will you also leave?
And they say,
To whom else will we turn?
You alone have the words of eternal life.
They believe God's Word about the Messiah King.
Now, their obedience is not perfect.
We know that they have many misunderstandings.
They misunderstand the nature of the kingdom,
and so they fight with pride to be top dog.
We hear Peter,
Jesus,
You shall never suffer.
It's not fitting for the Messiah to go to the cross.
Jesus,
You shall never wash my feet,
far be it from You to act as a servant.
And shortly,
they will fail Him at His point of need.
Watch and pray with me,
so they fall asleep.
When it's the time for Jesus' arrest,
they turn and run.
So, their obedience is not perfect,
but it is true obedience.
They have responded in faith and belief.
Compared to the others that we meet in the Gospels,
it becomes evident that the seed of God's Word,
it has been planted in their hearts
and has found good soil.
They are those who've been enabled by Jesus
to preach good news
and to perform miracles in Jesus' name.
At great cost to themselves,
they have confessed that Jesus is Lord,
that He is God's promised Messiah,
Savior, King.
And so, He prays.
Two wonderful truths, I think,
as we think about who Jesus prays for.
There's the wonderful truth of the Gospel,
that God saves sinners.
Here we are reminded,
even as Jesus prays,
that the three persons of the Trinity,
well, here it says the Father and Son in focus,
but they work together in wisdom and power
to achieve the salvation of a chosen people.
That the Father in love
elects before the creation of the world,
and the Son in love fulfills the Father's plan
by redeeming that chosen people.
And the Spirit, well, He shows the love of God
by giving the gift of new life.
And in this work of salvation,
it's God who does everything.
He's the one who plans it.
He's the one who, through Jesus, achieves it.
He is the one who gives the free gift of salvation.
And He gives it to sinners.
Those, again, who are by nature guilty.
Blind to our need and blind to the wonder of God.
Helpless and hopeless.
Dead in our trespasses and sins.
Unable to lift a finger to save ourselves
so that salvation is seen to belong to God.
That God gets all the glory
in saving these disciples,
in saving any disciples.
And it's also wonderfully clear,
as we listen to the prayer of Jesus
and we hear His heart,
that Jesus loves His disciples
and Jesus loves imperfect disciples.
Like us, sometimes mixed up
and sometimes we mess up,
yet the steadfast love of the Lord Jesus endures.
And the reality is that now in heaven,
He still loves His own,
He keeps on praying,
and He seeks our protection.
So that's who Jesus prays for.
But now we need to ask ourselves,
but what does Jesus pray for?
And that's there in verses 11 and 12.
Again, just to remind ourselves
the context for this prayer.
Verse 1,
Father, the hour has come.
So Jesus is aware that His departure is coming.
He's aware of the gap His disciples are going to feel.
He's always been present with them,
but now He's leaving.
And so in His heart,
He loves them.
And so He prays that His Father
would protect and keep.
And remember, He's doing this all out loud.
And so here are the disciples,
and this is a prayer to strengthen
and fortify their faith.
Remember last week,
we heard Jesus pray,
and He reminded them as they listened in
that they were held by their loving Father
and held by Jesus.
And now we are being reminded
that the disciples of Jesus
are protected by God's powerful name.
I will remain in the world no longer,
Jesus says in verse 11,
but they are still in the world,
and I am coming to you.
Holy Father,
protect them by the power of Your name,
the name You gave me,
so they may be one as we are one.
While I was with them,
I protected them and kept them safe
by that name You gave me.
None has been lost
except the one doomed to destruction
so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
Think about what's going on in this way.
When somebody we love,
at a human level,
is going through difficulty,
going through a personal crisis
or a testing time,
don't we feel that they're always
on our mind and in our heart?
Sometimes we find ourselves
actively praying for them,
but even when we're not,
don't we find it can be hard
to focus on what we're supposed
to give ourselves to?
We feel distracted
because we're worried about them.
It's still always on our heart.
Jesus' heart is bigger than ours.
His love is wider than ours.
He knows better than we do
what His disciples will go through,
and from His loving heart.
When His disciples are on His heart
and His mind,
He prays to commit them
to the love of His Father.
He is the high priest
who bears His people on His heart.
And here we discover Him
praying for their protection.
They've already begun to see
what it costs to be a follower of Jesus.
But last week,
we were thinking about that message.
Jesus said,
if they hated Me,
they'll hate you also.
He knows His disciples
in days to come
will face trial
and temptation
and persecution
and prison for His sake.
He knows that they need
the protection of God.
Notice too,
in verse 11,
the way Jesus addresses God.
It's the only time
in all of the Gospels
that we hear Jesus pray,
Holy Father.
And that suggests a few things to us.
I think it certainly suggests to us
that in Jesus' mind,
it is spiritual protection,
it is soul protection
that we need the most.
God's people need to be guarded
so that they might live holy lives.
And so,
Jesus asks His Holy Father,
the fountain and source
of true holiness,
to protect His set-apart people
that they might live set-apart lives,
come what may.
He calls Him Holy Father.
And Jesus prays for God's children.
And so,
we're also inclined to think about
the idea of family likeness.
Just as in a human family,
traits and character and speech
are often passed down
the generations,
Jesus prays to His Holy Father
that by His grace and power,
He would increasingly make
His children holy,
conforming them,
conforming us
to be more and more
like Jesus.
Jesus knows that the root
of holiness
in God's people
stems from
the relationship
that we have
with God as our Father
through the Lord Jesus.
And so,
He prays
that there would be
more conformity
to be more like
God the Father
in holiness.
God Himself
declares that
within His Word.
He wants us to imitate
this attribute book
of Leviticus.
Be holy
because I am
holy.
And so,
Jesus prays
to His Holy Father
knowing that the Holy Father
wants to see holiness
in us
and He knows
our weakness
and He knows
the only way
we're going to grow
in holiness
is if God
works powerfully
in us.
And so,
this prayer
is the reason
why
we are shaped
and grow
in holiness.
It's also striking
to think about
the moment
at which Jesus
prays,
Holy Father.
He is facing
the reality
of His own suffering.
He is facing
the prospect
of going
to the cross.
He faces
the grim reality
for Him
of feeling
forsaken
of His Father
as He becomes
the sin bearer
of the world.
Yet here,
as He lifts
His gaze
to heaven,
there's that sense
of wonder
and awe.
His Father
is holy
and pure
and perfect
and righteous
and good.
And His deep
desire
is that His people
would reflect
His holiness.
And so,
He prays
to His Holy Father
that His followers
would be
protected
and kept,
verse 11,
by the power
of God's
name.
That for those
of us who are
Christians,
Jesus is praying
that we would become
more loyal to God,
that we would be
growing in love,
that we'd be living
in line with
the character
of God,
we'd be coming
more like Jesus
as we are kept
and shaped
by God's mighty hand.
Jesus prays
that these disciples
would be faithful
to the Word of God
that they believed
about Jesus
so that they
would continue
to trust
and to share
the good news
that Jesus truly
is God's King
sent from heaven
to save from sin
and death.
He prays
at the end
of verse 11
that they may be
one as we are one,
that His disciples
would be united
in the love
of the Father
and the Son,
but they'd also
be united
as apostles
committed to Jesus
as Messiah
and His mission
in the world.
And so we get
the sense of
here is the heart
of Jesus
where He longs
is that His disciples
would be protected,
that God's name
would be honored,
that God's kingdom
would come
in their lives.
And we know
that because Jesus
prays the Father's will
and because Jesus
seeks the Father's glory
and because Jesus
is the Son of God,
His prayers
must be answered.
And so God
will protect
His disciples,
His followers,
His children.
And so again
for us as Christians,
here is where
our security lies,
not in ourselves,
but in our God
and in particular
here on the praying
life of Jesus,
our great High Priest.
As so many studies
tell us,
children who grow up
in stable,
protective environments
tend to thrive
and have more confidence
and have more
resilience
because they have
that secure
home life.
How much more
for the people
of God,
for the children
of God,
are we invited
to find
real strength,
real security,
and even real sleep
as we know
the God of the universe
protects His people.
The Lord
who never slumbers
or sleeps
always has His eye
on His people,
on His church.
And as we listen
into the prayer
of Jesus,
we're reminded
here is where
our hope is found,
not in our strength,
not in our resources,
but the reality
that the Lord God
is on our side.
And since God
is for us,
who can be
against us?
That this prayer
must be answered
and so this protection
that Jesus seeks
will be ours
if we are in Christ
from the beginning
of our life
with Jesus
until eternity.
So Jesus prays
for our protection.
Thirdly,
and just to really
kind of drill down
on this,
why do we need
this prayer?
So we've been
in John 17
for the last few weeks
and the basic idea
that we keep returning
to is Jesus
is our mediator
and so He prays
this prayer for us.
As the sinless
Son of God,
this prayer is answered.
But Jesus is also
our model
and so we understand
well if Jesus
prays this for us,
well it must be important.
It's something
that we should desire
for ourselves
and pray for ourselves
and we should pray
for others.
So we'll close
with this.
We'll close
with five reasons
and there's lots more
I'm sure
but there's five reasons
at least why we need
this prayer of Jesus
and why you and I
should pray it for others.
You know,
Holy Father,
start from ourselves,
protect me,
protect my family,
protect my church leaders,
protect my church family,
protect ministers
and missionaries
around the world.
Why?
Here's why we need
this prayer.
First of all,
because holiness is hard
and we find that
to be the case.
Living for God
is not straightforward.
The world is not holy.
In fact,
the world is often hostile
to God and His ways.
Holiness is not highly prized
in the world today.
It doesn't open many doors.
It doesn't get us much
by way of approval
and when we honestly reflect,
sometimes we recognize
holiness feels a lot more
like battle and struggle
and sometimes
short-term happiness
seems an awful lot easier.
Shopping and scrolling
and watching and relaxing,
that seems easier
than the disciplines of grace
and seeking to grow
in holiness
and Jesus knows us
and Jesus knows that.
So, He prays to His Father
for us.
Protect them
so they will persevere.
Holy Father,
may Your name be so powerful
and beautiful
in their thoughts
that they will choose holiness
even when it's hard,
even when it hurts.
And so,
we are encouraged
to pray for ourselves
and to pray for one another.
Protect us,
Father,
from giving in
or giving up.
Keep our eyes fixed
on our loving Savior
and the sure prospect
of eternal reward.
Father,
as You have promised,
finish the good work
You have begun
in our hearts.
We need Him
and we need His protection
because holiness
is hard.
Here's the second reason
why we need this prayer.
Because sin
makes us senseless.
Sin,
to use Calvin's word,
makes us stupid.
The Bible tells us
sin is lawlessness.
Sin is illogical.
Sin is against reason.
Sin is a contradiction
of who we truly are
in Christ.
In Christ,
we are declared
to be saints.
We are children of God.
We are set apart
as holy.
But each one of us
who are Christians here,
we know sadly
that as Christians,
we make and often
make foolish choices
and we choose
reckless behaviors
and we speak
terrible words
and we go back
to old habits
and we reap
destruction
as we go
and often
we find ourselves
bearing the scars
of our guilt
and our shame
and Jesus knows us
and Jesus knows that
and so He prays,
Father,
they will need
Your help.
We know our own hearts
to some degree
and so as we think
about the need
to be protected
spiritually,
we're invited to pray,
help me.
Help me fight against sin.
Help others to fight
against sin,
not to be captured by it.
Help us to believe
in any given moment
that our Father in Heaven
is so powerful
and good
that He can help us
choose holiness
when naturally
we'd want to give in
to temptation.
Protect us.
Give us eyes
to see sin
for what it is.
Sin is like
a contagious virus.
Think of all
the precautions
we take
for human medical viruses.
Spiritually,
we ask God's help
to be wise
that we might
be protected,
that our church
and our churches
might be protected.
Here's a third reason
why we need this prayer,
why the disciples
needed it
and why we need it.
Because others
will oppose us.
Jesus knows
that enemies
are literally
coming up the hill
and will soon
arrest Him
and persecute Him
and kill Him.
And Jesus knows
that His friends
and His followers
will also come
into the firing line.
Now, Jesus was
the most loving man
who ever lived.
Gave Himself
to caring
for the weak
and the poor.
He helped people.
He healed people.
He offered dignity.
He gave forgiveness.
He gave eternal life.
But He
was spat on
and mocked
and abused
and rejected
and finally executed.
And so others
will oppose us.
And so,
Jesus prays for us.
Father,
help them.
Protect them
because without
the protection
of our God,
we will choose
to compromise
or we will hide
in a corner
or we will simply
turn and give up.
and so we need
to pray
for strength
and protection.
Help me,
help us
to make Jesus
non-ignorable
to the people
around me.
Help us
to live
a set-apart life
even if no one
else around me is.
Help me
to be a consistent
light source
in places
of darkness.
Protect me.
here's a fourth
reason why we need
to pray this prayer
for spiritual
protection and keeping
because the mission
of God
matters.
Robert Murray
McShane,
the famous
preacher from
St. Peter's
in Dundee
in the 19th century
famously said,
my people's
greatest need
is my
personal holiness.
For anybody
to represent
a holy God,
well,
we need to
practice
holiness.
There needs
to be something
of the character
of God
in our lives.
We need
to follow
in the way
of Jesus.
And so we need
to be protected
in our holiness
for the sake
of God's mission.
The flip side,
think about the
danger of
unholiness.
When people see
that in the church,
that's what turns
people off.
That's what gives
people an excuse
to not believe,
to point at the church
and say,
see,
I told you so.
Following Jesus
is worthless.
Jesus knew
what His disciples
would face.
Jesus knew
His disciples'
natural fears
and so He prays
for them.
Father,
protect them
in this mission
that we have given
to them
because the world
needs those apostles.
And God heard
that prayer
and God answered
that prayer
and so those apostles,
they preached
the message of Jesus
and His saving work.
and they wrote
down the New Testament
that we have
in our hands
and they planted
churches that would
change the Roman Empire
and change the world.
They would give
their lives
in service
of the kingdom
of God.
And in the same
manner,
we pray,
please keep me,
help us
to walk
in the truth.
Help me
day by day
to live
in love.
enable me
to be
a good ambassador.
Think about
where you find
yourself
on the front lines
and where
the mission
of God
matters
but where
the challenges
are greatest
and pray
for one another
in the heat
of battle.
Fifth
and final
reason
why we need
this prayer
is because
it gives us
a chance
to hear
Jesus'
heart of love
for His children,
for His people.
because sometimes
life is really
tough as a Christian.
Sometimes it's like
the sky turns
black
and the storms
roll in.
Sometimes as Christians
we find ourselves
asking God,
are you there?
God,
do you care?
And in those times
we cannot trust
in our feelings
and our senses
but what we can
trust in
the feelings
of Jesus
for us.
the steadfast
love of Jesus,
the heart
of Jesus
for His people,
God's covenant
love for His own
which will never
shift.
Jesus will
always be
the great
high priest
for His people.
He is always
carrying us
on His shoulders.
He is always
bearing us
on His heart.
He is always
taking our needs,
our concerns,
our prayers
to His Father
in heaven.
The one who
prays for the
disciples,
the one who
prays for us
is the one
who loved us
and willingly
faced the hour
of the cross
to save us.
And now that
Jesus is in heaven,
He loves us
still.
And because of
that love,
He will
protect us.
God will
protect us
to the very
end
and into
eternity.
let's pray
together.
God our
Father,
we thank
You for
the way
Jesus'
prayer gives
us a
name.
Amen.